My Unknown Loss
by GrimAltair24
Summary: I woke up on a U.N.S.C ship, left with no memory of my identity but instead with the knowledge that I have a father. Who is he? I want to find him, I need answers. War? Covenant? SPARTANs? Just what exactly happened to the universe when I was in a coma?
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Hello, all! This is my first Halo fic, and it centers around a character who actually __**exists**__ in the Halo universe, but is not mentioned. I decided to write out my own version of her, her adventure and fate in Halo, and her background, etc, and YES I have screwed with the Halo video game series storyline for all of this. This takes place in the first Halo game, Combat Evolved. Feel free to point out any errors in vocabulary or anything I get wrong that's from the Halo universe or books. I have read them, I just have trouble remembering what happened. Hint (just to make sure I don't kill anybody with the suspense and questions that would be going through their minds) the story title has something to do with this character's past. _

**My Unknown Loss**

_Chapter 1_

"Em! Can you hear me?!" My head throbbed at the shouting voice. I groaned. I was in complete darkness, but where were the noises coming from? There was...gunfire, lots of gunfire. Shouts and yells were accompanying the gunfire as well. Was there a battle going on or something?

"Emily!" The voice shouted again. Who was it calling? I moaned.

"Is that...my name?" I heard the voice sigh.

"Your head hasn't recovered from that wound very well...You must have succumbed to amnesia." Blindly, I reached a hand up to touch my head, and I felt that it was very sore. I found what felt like a gouge, and my hand began to follow it, until it was grasped by a rough, callused palm. "Don't touch it. I'm going to bandage it again before I send you off." Instantly, I became scared at his words and I yelped,

"W-Wait! Who are you? Why are you sending me away? What did I do!?" Another callused hand gently picked up my right hand and held it. He sighed.

"Em, you didn't do anything wrong. It's just...your dad put you in my care, and I'm not willing to break the promise I made with him." _My...dad?_ "I promised him that I would protect you, and now I'm going to send you someplace safe. Far away from the Covenant..." _Covenant?_ The man sighed again. "I'm so sorry to leave you like this, Emily. I-I wasn't expecting you to get amnesia but...I wish there was something I could do..." I thought I could hear what sounded like sobbing, and it also sounded like it was being fought down. I heard an explosion in the background and the man cursed. "Alright, I'm done bandaging your head...I'm afraid this is goodbye, Emily." The hands left my side and I heard steam whooshing, like it was being pressured. I heard a large door close, most likely in front of me. I heard the man's voice again. "Be strong, Em!" I felt a large tremor shake my body, and I felt something around me shake. My stomach dropped when I felt like I was falling, and I did the only thing I could think of...I screamed, not hearing the ear-deafening explosion behind me.

* * *

John-117 calmly walked through the halls in the _Pillar of Autumn_, fully suited in his green MJOLNIR armor. He had just been called by Captain Keyes to the front of the ship, in the control room. He inwardly sighed. He was almost in one of the cryo-tubes when he was summoned. He'd much rather go into stasis than walk around in the ship, but still, duty calls. He took a glance at his gauntlets. His armor was pretty battered up from the battle on Reach.

John's eyes softened, turning his gaze to the floor. Reach, the planet he barely escaped before it was glassed by the Covenant, the planet where the rest of his SPARTANS were. He and two other SPARTANs were sent to wipe the data of Reach before the Covenant could get to it, and he lost those two in the process. Only he, Sgt. Johnson, and a few marines made it and escaped in the _Pillar of Autumn_, but as for the rest of the SPARTANs John left behind_...They're....gone...._He couldn't believe it, his brothers and sisters, all gone. SPARTANS weren't supposed to die. _Now...I'm the only one left..._John thought mournfully. _Linda, Kelly, Sam, Fred, James, Will, Fhajad...all of them..._He abruptly shook his head, shaking away his thoughts. Now wasn't the time, not when the Captain was waiting for him.

As he turned a corner, he pondered on what the reason why Captain Keyes called him could be. _Maybe it's a briefing meeting..._He pushed his thoughts when he approached the doors to the _Pillar of Autumn's_ control room, which opened automatically with a beep once he got close. On the other side of the door was an large room with an enormous window in the front of the room, the dark yet beautiful vacuum of space just outside. Aligned with the room's wall were large computers, one man sitting at each one. In the very center of the room was a pillar with button pads on them and small monitor screens. John-117 walked around the pillar and began to walk to the front of the window. There was a large pit in front of the window, and down below the window curved and became a floor, just for those who wanted to stand down there and observe the view. In front of the pit was a long desk with holographic screens floating above it, a few men at the desk's seats, in front of each screen. A man with gray hair wearing a gray uniform was standing in front of the desk, watching planets and stars outside, his hands folded behind his back. John walked up and stopped once he was at least a couple of feet behind the man, and he saluted with his left hand.

"Master Chief Petty Officer Sierra-117, reporting for duty, sir," he announced just loud enough for the man to hear, his voice impassive and rough. The man turned and looked as if he was in his 50s. His hair was already grey and his eyes were a faded blue. On his grey uniform, right above his heart, were multiple ribbons. John knew that Keyes didn't get those for nothing, not from what he's heard. The Captain had a straight posture, and looked very strict in posture and facial features.

"At ease, Master Chief." John lowered his hand and Keyes held out his own, which he took and they shook hands. "It's good to have you on board, son." John nodded as they parted.

"Thank you, sir. Permission to ask a question, Captain?" Keyes raised a hand to stop the Chief's words.

"No need. I already know what you're going to ask. I called you up here so we can plan on what to do next." _I knew it..._John sighed inwardly-the cryo-tubes were going to have to wait. The Captain turned to a pole that was emerging from the ground, with a glowing ring embedded into the top. "Cortana? Care to explain to the Chief what you just told me?" The ring glowed brighter and there was a flash of small letter holograms, before a small, holographic, slender woman appeared on the pole. She looked like she was wearing a skin-tight bodysuit that covered her entire body, and she was made entirely of numbers and codes, scrolling through and around her body. She was glowing different shades of purple and blue and her hair was short, reaching just below her ears. The holographic woman placed a hand on her hip and looked to John.

"Good to see you, Chief." John nodded. "Alright, what I'm about to tell you won't come to be as much of a shock, but I'll say it anyway. When we jumped from Reach, we only jumped halfway through." _Halfway?_ John thought incredulously and he asked,

"What about the Covenant? Weren't they following us?" Cortana shook her head.

"Honestly, I don't know. We could have lost them, or maybe they're still on our tracks, or perhaps they changed course." She lowered her arm. "All I know is that we should think of a plan, and fast, before they find us." Keyes nodded and turned to face the window again.

"We have a lot of wounded marines, and we lost many lives back there..." He stared in silence at the bright stars outside and he turned to Cortana. "Cortana, what's the closest UNSC carrier?" Cortana nodded.

"Just a moment..." She placed a hand on her temple and her eyes narrowed in thought, scanning. After a minute or two, she lowered her hand. "The closest one is not far from here, and one that managed to escape from Reach as well. It's the UNSC _Atlas_." Keyes raised an eyebrow.

"They got away? Hm..." He turned to the window again, hands folded behind his back once more. "Alright, Cortana, can you send them a message for permission to dock, and ask them what their status is?" Cortana nodded.

"Right ahead of you, Cap-" She cut herself off and placed a hand on her temple again, her features twisted in confusion and surprise. "...What in the...I can't believe it..." Keyes slightly turned his upper body to look back at her.

"What is it?" Cortana's brows knitted together, as if she was trying to make sense of something. John was becoming concerned by then; what did she see? Cortana sighed and lowered her hand before crossing her arms.

"You boys _might_ want to take a look at this." She brought up a holographic screen and everyone in the room seemed to have brought their attention to it after seeing Cortana's confusion. The technicians began murmuring to each other about what was being shown to them while the Captain Keyes and John stared in confusion and suspicion. There, aimlessly floating not so far away from them, was a UNSC escape pod of some sort. Captain Keyes narrowed his eyes and turned to a couple of his technicians at their computers. His voice was stern as he ordered,

"Get me a reading from that pod, _now_. I want to know where it came from, what unit it belongs to, and if there's any sign of life on that thing." A few technicians nodded while the rest replied with a "yes, sir," before they began to type at inhuman speed on their computers. Meanwhile, John turned to Cortana.

"I don't get it. Why would there be an escape pod out here? We should be far away from Reach by now." Cortana could only sigh.

"I don't get it either, Chief. It might have gotten dragged along with us when we entered slipspace. Or maybe it was already here..." John gestured to the screen.

"Just drifting like that? Abandoned?" Cortana didn't reply and John began to feel uneasy at her silent answer.

"Captain!" They all turned to a technician in an orange jumpsuit and he looked to Captain Keyes. "I managed to get into its program and there's only one life form in that pod, sir." Keyes narrowed his eyes.

"Human or Covenant?" John didn't question why Keyes asked if there was a Covenant alien on board a human vessel. The things knew how to trick people, like the Elites. The tech looked at his screen before shaking his head, uncertain.

"I don't know, sir. But whatever it is, it's in pretty bad shape." Keyes raised an eyebrow and asked,

"How so?" Cortana raised her hand.

"Its head is severely damaged" She paused and shook her head in confusion. "Strange...it has a vital signs monitor. It's as if it just had medical treatment. Heartbeat is normal, and it seems to be asleep, or unconscious. I think it's in some sort of cryo-tube, in comatose perhaps." Keyes brought out his pipe, placed it in his mouth, and began to chew on it. _He must be thinking about what to do,_ John thought. John stepped forward.

"...Captain?" After a few minutes of silence, Keyes lowered his pipe and turned to their AI.

"Cortana, give the orders for a pair of Pelicans to go out there and retrieve that pod." Cortana nodded as Keyes turned to John.

"Aye aye, sir." She disappeared in a flash of codes as Keyes said,

"Chief, you come with me. Let's go down to the hangar and see what we got." John nodded.

"Yes, sir." With that, Keyes turned and walked to the doors, with John following close behind. After a few minutes of walking in silence, they reached the elevator and entered before it began to descend. They were silent for a minute, until Keyes, with his back to John, began to speak,

"I...am very sorry about the other SPARTANs back on Reach, Chief. I understand how important and close they were to you." John was surprised; he never took Keyes as a man to sympathize, especially for SPARTANs. Keyes continued, "It wasn't only a loss for you, but for all of us. They won't be forgotten." John could only nod and mutter,

"Thank you, sir..." Keyes didn't reply and continued to stare out the elevator. After another minute or two, the elevator began to slow down and came to a stop. With a wheeze, the elevator doors opened and revealed two marines standing there, talking to each other. They froze once their eyes landed on John and the captain, and they both instantly saluted. Keyes nodded as he and John walked past them.

"At ease, marines." The marines lowered their hands and entered the elevator. Cortana's voice then entered the Intercom.

"Captain, the Pelicans have successfully retrieved the pod and it's now waiting for you in the docking bay. Sergeant Johnson and his marines are awaiting your orders for what to do with it." Keyes nodded as he kept walking.

"Thanks, Cortana. Tell Johnson and his team to wait until the Chief and I arrive. That is all."

"Yes, sir." After walking through numbered hallways and by many passing marines, Keyes and John had reached the entrance to the docking bay. The doors opened with a soft bling and a hiss of steam before they walked in.

They entered an enormous room, with ships of different sizes and large doors. Jeeps were parked in a nearby lot, each in their own aisle. Many marines in armor and gear were scattered about the place, either chatting with each other or doing what they were ordered. Sergeants were having their men go through drills and technicians were fixing the jeeps and vehicles.

"Captain!" Keyes and John turned to see an African-American sergeant approach them. John took note of the mustache and the Cuban cigar in the sergeant's mouth. _Johnson_. Sergeant Avery Johnson stopped and saluted the Captain before nodding to John.

"Chief, good to see you." John nodded back.

"Likewise." Keyes decided to get straight to business.

"So, you retrieved the pod?" Johnson nodded and gestured to two stationary ships behind his back with his thumb.

"Yep. But it's weird, sir." He looked down at the ground and shook his head, muttering, "I haven't seen a pod like that since a long time ago. Since around the beginning of the war, sir." Keyes raised an eyebrow.

"Are you saying that this pod has been able to keep something in cryo for over 25 years?" Johnson nodded and gestured for them to follow him.

"That's right, sir, but it looks like a model similar to the O.D.S.T SOEIV. The only thing that's different is that its interior is designed after an escape pod meant for one person only." Keyes nodded as he and John began to follow the sergeant to the Pelicans he gestured to, which were on the very far side of the bay. John noticed that Keyes had kept his hands locked behind his back the entire way to the bay.

"Can you see what's inside of it?" John asked. Johnson shook his head.

"No. It's as foggy as hell in there," he exclaimed softly. Keyes' eyes narrowed and he said nothing more. Soon they reached the Pelicans and they walked in between them, to find the pod that they spotted earlier laying on its back and a small group of marines standing around it, who all saluted once they saw their superiors. John realized as he stood next to it that it reached up to his stomach. _If it were standing up right, it would be as tall as me..._John pondered. Keyes walked around the pod and he placed his chin in his right hand as he examined it, his face looking grim.

"Cortana, can you open this thing?" he asked out loud. Cortana answered in one of the nearby speakers.

"Right away, Captain. It'll take just a minute...Aha! Got it." The pod's door began to spew steam pressure out of its creases and it hissed as it slowly slid in to its compartment at the bottom. Everyone could see through the window that the steam was fading and the inside was getting clearer. The door was finally fully open, and the steam faded more until they could clearly see inside. A faint beeping was heard, and it sounded like a heart monitor. Everyone froze in complete shock. Johnson grasped his cigar and pulled it out of his mouth, coughing up the parts of it he bit on out of shock.

"Wh-What the hell?" he choked out. All of the marines stepped back and one of them muttered,

"How in the world did she get out here?" The rest of them began muttering and John could only stare in shock behind his faceplate. There, sleeping peacefully in the cryo-tube, was a young teenage brunette girl. She was wearing a gray jacket, its flaps open, revealing her white t-shirt, and slightly tight jeans colored a faded blue. On her feet she wore a pair of white converse shoes. Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes twitching every now and then as she slept, and her mouth was slightly open, her breathing calm and deep. Keyes' eyes narrowed as he took out his pipe and began to chew on it again.

"Cortana, can you explain this?"

"Negative, Captain...I'm...I'm completely at a loss here, sir." Keyes frowned and turned to one of the marines.

"You, go get a team from the medical bay. Tell them we need a transport for an unconscious..." He glanced at the girl uneasily. "..._guest_ of ours." The marine hesitated before giving a solid salute.

"Yes, sir!" The marine ran off and disappeared behind the hangar doors. Sergeant Johnson sighed as he placed his cigar back in his mouth, took a drag, and leaned over the girl, his elbow supporting him on the pod's edge.

"Damn...looks like a civilian," he uttered as he blew some smoke. John's eyes narrowed once he saw the smoke drift over the girl, and he walked up behind Johnson and gently, yet firmly at the same time, placed his hand on Johnson's shoulder.

"I think you should smoke somewhere else. We have no idea what this girl's conditions are..." Johnson only raised an eyebrow before removing his cigar, threw it to the floor and rubbed it out with his boot.

"I had enough anyways..." Johnson muttered as he resumed his position over the girl. Keyes crossed his arms as he stared at the girl.

"Why on earth would there be a _civilian_ out in space?" John joined Johnson at the girl's side and he stared at her face. _She looks like she's been through a lot..._he mused. As he stared hard at the girl's face, he noticed a line of lighter skin on her forehead, barely visible beneath her brown bangs. John raised an eyebrow before reaching out his left hand to brush away her bangs to get a better look. The girl shifted her head a bit and she mumbled lightly, but went back to sleep. Nobody stopped him, Sergeant Johnson and Keyes only raised an eyebrow as they watched his movement. John withdrew his hand and gestured to the girl's forehead with it. _Just as I thought..._

"Look at that." All eyes followed where the Chief's hand was pointing and their eyes widened.

"Damn...that's one hell of a scar," Johnson muttered. Indeed, on the girl's forehead, just above the bridge of her nose, was a large scar in the shape of a slash mark, going diagonally down from the top right of her forehead to the bottom left, just next to her left eye. John's eyes narrowed.

"Looks like she got cut by something...We should-" He cut himself off once he saw the girl shift roughly in her position, and her eyes slowly fluttered open, to reveal confused, brown eyes.

* * *

_Everything is so dark...Wait...Voices...I can hear voices...What are they talking about? Ugh...what is that smell?_ I felt something rough touch my forehead, moving my hair. _What is this? Go away, I'm tired._ I shifted a bit and relaxed again, but the voices were still there, talking. _Who's there?_ I opened my eyes slowly, and I winced at the blinding light that meets them. I saw an African-American man and a huge green robot hovering over me, watching me. _Wait, robot?_ My eyes widened and I abruptly sat up. _Where am I?_ I frantically scanned the area, and I saw ships and men in grey battle armor. I gritted my teeth as a sharp pain stabbed my forehead and I grasped it with both hands, my eyes shut. I whimpered as another surge of pain struck and I managed to open my eyes a bit to the look for an exit. _I have to get out of here!_ I shot up to my feet, stumbling a bit, and the men around me and the robot seemed shocked. The African-American approached me quickly.

"Hey! You sit back down, little missy!" he ordered in a stern voice. Another man, the one in gray, turned to the African-American angrily, shouting,

"Johnson, halt!" I stepped back away from this Johnson in fear and turned to leap down from whatever I was in, only to feel my legs buckle suddenly. _Why do I feel so weak?_ I gasped and my eyes widened as I fell down several feet to the floor. I squeezed my eyes shut as I waited for my body to crash on the metal floor. The impact didn't come, and I felt myself get caught by two, stiff arms that felt like metal. I looked down and realized I was hovering a several feet above the ground. Confused and oddly dazed, I looked up to see my own face reflected in a golden mirror outlined with green. I sensed myself fading away again and my eyes slowly fluttered closed as I unconsciously whispered,

_"My...dad..."_ Everything turned black...

* * *

John raised an eyebrow at the word he had just heard the mysterious girl in his hands whisper, barley underneath a soft breath. '_Dad?' So the kid has a family..._He looked up at Keyes, whose eyes narrowed as he studied the girl.

"Seems we don't have an everyday citizen on board..." Johnson nodded in agreement.

"Yeah... and what the hell was that about?" John shook his head and replied,

"She was just shocked. She must have been unconscious for too long. We should get her to the infirmary... "He looked down at the comatose girl before glancing to Keyes. "Sir, with all due respect, I don't think we should wait for the medic you ordered for." Keyes walked up to him, pipe in his mouth as his eyes centered on the SPARTAN's visor.

"You have no argument from me, Chief." The captain turned to the Sgt. "Johnson, report to the Control Room. After we take our guest to the medical bay, we'll meet you up there." Johnson gave a sharp salute.

"Yes, sir." With that, the sergeant turned and left the hangar in an elevator shaft, as Keyes and John, who still had the girl in his arms, watched him leave. Keyes returned his gaze to the Master Chief, gesturing to a doorway with his head.

"Shall we?" John nodded once.

"Yes, sir." They both turned and walked alongside each other as they left the hangar, the girl dangling in the SPARTAN's arms as they walked.

Captain Keyes and SPARTAN 117 walked into the medical center and a woman in a white suit at the desk looked up in shock when she spotted the girl before she looked to Keyes.

"Is this the guest, Captain? We already sent a medic to the-"

"I apologize for that, Dr. Owens. We had a change of plans. She woke up in shock before she blacked out again." Dr. Owens' eyes softened as they rested on the young girl's form.

"Oh, the poor thing..." she uttered softly. She walked around the desk and gestured to a nearby hallway with her hand. "Please follow me." Keyes and John complied as they followed the doctor into the brightly lit hallway, stopped and waited for an automatic door to open, and walked after her into a vacant examination room. Dr. Owens stopped beside the examination cot and turned to Master Chief. "You can put her down on the cot, sir." John nodded and walked over to the cot, gently placing the young girl in his arms onto the straight bed, and watched as she slightly stirred with a moan before becoming quiet and still again. As he walked back to Keyes' side, the captain uttered to the doctor,

"She has a strange scar on her forehead. Do you think you can tell what happened to her?" Owens sighed as she began checking the girl's pulse on her wrist.

"It would be best if we just wait and give her time to adapt. I understand that if she was in shock, you all must have scared her to death." John noticed the annoyance in Keyes' eyes, but made no comment. Keyes walked up to Owens' side.

"We don't know if she's a trap sent by the Covenant or if she's an Insurrectionist. It's best that we know what she's doing out here in space." Dr. Owens narrowed her eyes and locked her gaze with the captain's.

"Would you think the same about your daughter, sir?" Keyes tensed and he looked down at the young girl's face, watching as she breathed softly in her sleep. His eyes softened as he watched her, images of his daughter flashing in the girl's place, and he felt tempted to reach out and hold her, like the way he hugged his own child. He remembered when his daughter was this girl's age, young and determined like him, innocent and beautiful like her mother. He sighed as he continued to watch her, not noticing Chief's curious gaze.

John had heard that the captain had a daughter, and that she served in the UNSC as well. Seeing this girl must have reminded him of his own child, and he must miss her dearly. Finally, Keyes turned around and uttered to the doctor,

"When she wakes up, you will report to us, correct?" Owens nodded.

"Affirmative, sir." Keyes gave a slight nod before walking back to the Chief, when Cortana's voice sounded over the intercom.

"Captain, it may take a while for the jump to _Atlas_." Keyes frowned as Cortana continued, "The jump we made back at Reach fried our slipspace drives, sir. The mechanics are working as fast as they can to get them going." John uttered,

"In other words, we're stuck here." Cortana appeared in a nearby screen and nodded.

"Precisely." Keyes sighed as he pulled out his pipe to place it in his mouth, thinking of what to do next. After a minute, he turned to Cortana.

"Let me know when they're done with the drivers. When they are, stand by for my order for a slipspace jump." Cortana nodded.

"Aye aye, Captain." With that, she disappeared and the screen returned to its normal state, with texts and charts shifting. Keyes turned to John.

"Chief, you're dismissed for today." John froze at that and behind his visor his eyebrows rose as Keyes turned and began to walk toward the exit. "You can always ask Cortana for the map of the Autumn. Feel free to roam around." John stood in his spot, and he saluted.

"Yes, Captain. Thank you very much, sir," he said, loud enough for the captain to hear. Keyes only nodded before the door hissed and closed, blocking the captain from John's view. John lowered his arm slowly, staring at the door in silence. Beeping suddenly sounded behind him and he turned to find Owens connecting cords to the young girl. Owens, noticing him watching, said,

"It's alright, sir. It's only her vitals I need to watch in case something happens." John nodded in understanding before looking to the screen, where green lines were spiking in sync with the beeping. _At least she's stable..._ he thought. He walked back to the wall and leaned against it, watching the girl as Owens checked the cords and monitors. Owens looked up to the SPARTAN questioningly before quickly looking back down to the girl. John saw her glance and said,

"I can leave if you want, Doctor." Owens was baffled at this and she straightened, shaking her hands back in forth in disagreement.

"O-oh no, it's not that I dislike your presence, Master Chief." She looked down at the girl. "I was just thinking that you must care a lot about this child." John raised an eyebrow, waiting for Owens to elaborate. "I mean, do you know her?" John briefly shook his head and Owens blinked. "Then, if I may, why are you here?" John blinked as well. That's right...why are you here, John? He looked to the sleeping girl. You don't know this kid, so why even bother? He mentally shook his head before replying with,

"Just because I'm a SPARTAN, doesn't mean I can't care about the well being of others, Doctor." Owens was taken aback by this and she looked down, making John feel guilty about his retort.

"I wasn't implying that you..." She trailed off and John sighed as he looked down.

"I apologize. What I said was uncalled for..." Owens smiled, and any trace of hurt was fully wiped away.

"It's quite alright, Master Chief. I understand." She returned her focus to the unknown child before her and pulled out a note pad and pen. She glanced at the vitals screen before nodding and writing something down on her paper. "I'm happy that our guest has at least one visitor," she uttered with a smile as she continued her writing. John merely nodded as he watched Owens and the comatose girl. Owens finished writing and lowered her notepad and pen. "Alright. She's perfectly healthy."

"Good to hear," John said. The doctor turned to him and grinned.

"Yes. I'm very glad that she's alright." She blinked and looked to the girl with concerned eyes. "But that scar...I wonder what happened." The SPARTAN followed her gaze.

"So do I..." A silence fell upon them and John turned to the doctor. "Will you look into it?" Owens nodded before meeting his gaze.

"Of course." She turned and began to walk to the doorway, which opened once she approached. She glanced to John with a curious gaze, and John knew what she was wondering.

"I'll stay here for a few minutes, if that's alright." Owens merely nodded with a warm smile and left the room, with the door closing behind her. John stood against the wall in silence, staring at the door for a few minutes. Finally, he sighed and looked to the other occupant in the room. _Just where in the hell did she come from?_ He shook his head, walked to the doorway, and left.

* * *

_Another Note: Well, any thoughts? Please review. You know I used to dislike Keyes very much, but after reading Cole Protocol, I totally support him now :D I hope I got Chief's character right, he's not very easy, neither is Johnson. As for the pod Emily was found in, it's practically an escape/cryotube pod for one passenger only. Also, title of this series is related to Emily's amnesia and her past. I hope everyone likes this! _


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: So yeah, I might not have Cortana's character completely down, but I tried my best. I decided to start this thing: if any of this story's fans want me to write in a character of theirs for a brief appearance with some lines, let me know by PM. Next chapter of the story will take place when Emily can walk around the ship, which means that she'll be seeing a LOT of people. Anyway, I forgot something in this story. In Chapter 1, there's the ship Atlas that Keyes was planning on jumping to, and after some research, I realized that Atlas is the ship where Chief beat up a bunch of ODSTs after they antagonized him. I should have mentioned that there...and I also found out that, in the game and book, Cortana was the one who changed the_ Autumn's_ slipspace coordinates to the coordinates of the first Halo ring....dang I missed a bunch of stuff. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 2

One hour later, a tall, strong, short brown-haired man was sitting on the edge of a bed. He was in room, which had a closet, mirror, and a locker. He simply stared ahead in deep thought, until a holographic form appeared on the pedestal next to him.

"Good to see that you're out of your armor, Chief," Cortana said, placing her hands on her hips. John glanced at her with his eyes and replied,

"Thanks?" Cortana smiled and crossed her arms.

"So...any thoughts?" John turned his upper body to fully look at her and he raised an eyebrow.

"On what?"

"That girl." John blinked slowly before he faced forward again, leaning forward with his arms resting on his legs. He sighed and looked down at the floor.

"I don't know. It's strange..." Cortana shook her head and held her chin in her right hand.

"It would take me a long time to figure out who she is. I would have to look through the entire identification server in the universe." John narrowed his eyes.

"That would take forever, even for you," he muttered. Cortana chuckled and replied,

"You flatter me, but yes, it would take, as you put it, forever." John sighed. _How are we going to figure out who she is?_ he thought to himself. "Or..." Cortana's voice caught his attention, and he looked at her. "If you can get a DNA sample from her, like a piece of hair, I can scan it and the search will be much quicker." John pondered this for a moment before he looked at the clock. _I guess it's time for lunch..._he thought. He stood up and turned to the A.I's holographic form.

"We could try that, but not now. I have a feeling we'll need the captain's opinion on this." He scratched the back of his head as he said, "Anyway, I'm going to the cafeteria. I'll catch you later." Cortana nodded and waved her arm.

"Of course." With that, she flickered, and disappeared, as the tall, muscular man left his room.

John watched as everyone in the cafeteria turned to where he stood in the entryway, some in awe, some in curiousity, and some out of confusion. John inwardly sighed, but he kept his poker face in check, and he began to walk pass the tables of men and women, heading for the food line. He could feel everyone's eyes watching him, and he was relieved that, after a few minutes, they all resumed their chatting. With his special hearing, he could pick up all of their mutterings.

"Who's he? I'd be damned if he's a marine. He's huge!" once voice exclaimed in a whisper.

"Look at those arms! What does he do for exercise, bench press two warthogs?"

Another voice added, "Yeah, and he's as pasty as hell. What a freak..." The last sentence stung a bit, but he fought that down as he got in line and picking up a tray. He carelessly picked up everything in the food line, picked up two cartons of milk, and turning to find a table. He scanned the room, until he spotted a vacant table in a far, lonely corner. _There's my seat..._he thought wryly.

He walked over to the table and sat down before beginning to eat. His thoughts drifted to his fellow Spartans, making his mood all the more dull and sad. After a half an hour of eating in silence, John finished his food and dropped off the tray at the dishwashing area of the food line. He sighed, finding he had nothing to do...again. He opted to return to his room, exiting the cafeteria and walking down the halls, with his hands in his pockets. He passed a few marines, who looked at him strangely, but he ignored them and walked on. After a few minutes, he stopped outside of the medical bay, and his mind wandered to think of that girl.

"Might as well pay a complete stranger a visit and wish her well..." he muttered to himself. He walked up to the door, which opened with a hiss, and he spotted Dr. Owens at the desk. She looked up in surprise and stood up.

"Oh! Are you here to see her?"

"Affirmative, ma'am." Dr. Owens smiled warmly and walked around the desk, gesturing for John to follow her. She looked back at the Spartan, tilting her head to the side. "You're very kind, Master Chief." John said nothing, but the doctor continued nonetheless, "You know what else? I'd even go as far as saying you've taken a liking to this girl." Chief stopped and raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he continued walking. Dr. Owens stopped at a door, and it opened. She gestured to the room with her hand, and John walked in.

He heard the door close behind him, and he realized that Dr. Owens had given him the courtesy of leaving him alone with the girl. He sighed and walked over to the girl's side, taking a seat in the chair that was positioned next to her bed. Before he sat down, he turned the chair around and rested his arms on the back's top, his legs separated. He stared at the sleeping girl in thought, and he noticed that her vitals were fine, judging by the steady beeping of the machine. His eyes rested on the scar on her forehead, and he stared at it for a few minutes until he chuckled wryly as he raised a hand to brush one of her bangs aside to get a better look at the mark.

"You chose one hell of a time to show up, kid..." Surprisingly, the girl responded in a way, shifting her head a bit, groaning drowsily, before resting again. John smiled, but he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in curiousity. He stood up from his seat and stood over her, his hands clutching on the railing of her bed. He watched her cautiously, and slowly lifted his hand again. His hand inched closer to the girl's forehead, and he lightly touched the girl's scar. That's when those brown eyes snapped open again.

In the darkness, I heard someone say something, and it was a familiar voice, then I felt something moving my hair. After that, I felt something lightly prod my forehead, and I snapped my eyes open at the slight pain that came over me. The first thing I saw was a face, a man's face, hovering several feet over mine, and I yelped as I sat up, causing the man to jump back. I scooted backwards away from the large, muscular man, to the edge of what I was lying on, a bed, and he carefully held up a hand.

"Calm down," he said, his voice strong and somewhat stern. "I'm not going to hurt you." I tensed and tried to back away even more, only for my back to hit the wall. I glanced at the wall and back to the man, who was watching me, bent at the waist a bit, cautious. I noticed that he had scars all over his arms and several on his face, but his size made me forget about them and my body began to shake. He sensed my fear of him, and he lowered his hand. "You're aboard the _Pillar of Autumn_, a U.N.S.C ship." I blinked. _UNSC? The United Nations Space Command? Why am I here?_ The voice from before echoed in my mind. _**"Your father put you in my care, and I'm not willing to break the promise I made with him. **__**I promised him that I would protect you, and now I'm going to send you someplace safe. Far away from the Covenant..."**_ Pain suddenly surged within my head and I grunted, grasping my skull with both hands, eyes widening. What's going on?! I can't remember anything! My breathing sped up, and I heard a beeping noise speed up as well. The man's eyes flashed with fear and worry, and turned his head to the door, shouting, "Dr. Owens!" He turned back to me. "Listen! You need to calm down or else you'll black out again." My eyes widened and I looked at him in the eyes, then a woman in a white coat came in. Her eyes broadened.

"She's awake." The man nodded and held out an arm to prevent her from getting any closer to me.

"Careful, ma'am. She's frightened and could lash out." I narrowed my eyes. _I'm not scared of you!_ I sighed inwardly. Who was I kidding? The lady rolled her eyes and pushed past the man.

"It's alright. We just need to be gentle." She walked up to me and, seeing that she was a normal size, my breathing normalized a bit. She stood next to my bed and said in a soothing voice, "Don't worry. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to help." I blinked at her and nodded in understanding. She smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Dr. Owens. What's your name?" I blinked before looking down, remembering the voice from before I was sent here.

"Emily." Dr. Owens nodded, and asked,

"Do you have a last name?" I shook my head and she frowned in thought before looking up to the man behind her.

"Master Chief, go report to the Captain that our guest is awake." The man nodded once before exiting the room. The woman turned back to me and slowly said, "Emily, soon we'll tell you about how you ended up here, okay?" I nodded and she continued, "You'll be asked questions."

"About what?" I asked, my voice wavering. She shrugged.

"Pretty much your entire background story. They need to check and see if you're a threat." I raised an eyebrow and she nodded. "I know. How could they think that a teenage girl would be a threat?" I stared at my hands, which were folded in my lap, and I asked,

"I'm on a U.N.S.C ship?" She blinked and nodded, replying,

"Yes, you are. And, boy did you choose a great time to show up." I looked at her and asked,

"Why, what's happening?" Her eyebrows arched in surprise and she leaned toward me,

"You mean you don't know about the war?" I raised an eyebrow.

"War? What-" The door opened with a hiss and two men and the large man from before stepped in. I recognized the two men as the men from the first time I woke up here. The African-American man and the man in gray. The man in gray, the captain I presumed, walked up to the doctor's side and looked at me.

"Glad to see you're up." I said nothing, just staring at him in wonder and he held out his hand to me, which I took in my own and shook. "Captain Keyes, of the Pillar of Autumn. Welcome aboard." I looked over his shoulder subtly, glancing at the large man standing beside the door, with his arms behind his back. He caught my glance and his eyes met mine, and he looked confused for a second, probably wondering why I'm looking at him. Unfortunately for me, the Captain saw my glance and looked back to the man, who broke eye contact with me. "I see you've already met the Master Chief," Keyes commented. I looked up at the gray-haired man and nodded, before asking,

"Master Chief?"

"It's his rank. It's what he goes by in the U.N.S.C," Dr. Owens answered. I nodded to her in understanding and looked back at the Master Chief, but he didn't make eye contact with me this time. I looked back to the Captain and he gestured to the African-American a foot behind him.

"This is Sergeant Avery Johnson." Johnson walked up to me and held out his hand as well.

"Nice to meet ya." I looked at him, shaking his hand with mine, and replied,

"Same to you, Sgt." Sergeant Johnson nodded before he lowered his hand and asked,

"So, you got a name, kid?"

"It's Emily." The Captain looked at me and said,

"Emily, we have questions, so if you can follow us-"

"Oh, please, Captain, with all due respect, the young girl just woke up. You can ask the questions here, where she can rest." The men in all the room looked shocked at her, even the Master Chief. I looked at her and then the Captain retorted,

"Dr. Owens, the medical bay is not a place for questioning possible threats." Dr. Owens fully turned to face him.

"Captain, she was in a coma, and I suspect for a very long time. She most likely can't even stand." Johnson looked at Keyes.

"She did take quite a fall when she tried to stand up," he pointed out. The doctor folded her hands as she turned to all the men.

"Then there's no doubt that she's been in stasis for a very long time, especially if her immobilization is that bad." She gave the captain a pointed look. "Which means she can't leave this room." Keyes narrowed his eyes before sighing and sitting in the chair next to the doctor.

"Very well. We'll ask questions here." He looked at me. "Alright. First thing's first. Emily, why were you in that cryo-tube?" I blinked, before softening my eyes.

"...I-I don't know. Someone, a man I knew...he put me in it." Keyes nodded and he asked,

"Does he have a name?" I shook my head.

"I can't remember." Keyes stared in thought before asking another question.

"Do you know why he put you in that cryo-tube?" The man's voice echoed in my mind and I replied,

"He said he was told to protect me, by my father. He wanted to..." I held a hand up to my temple, clenching my jaw as I tried to remember the scene. "Get me out of someplace, away from something. I couldn't see anything, but I heard a battle going on in the background." Dr. Owens stepped in to ask a question.

"What was he trying to get you away from?" I tried to remember again, and the word came to me.

"Something called...the Covenant." Everyone seemed to freeze at that, and I wondered why. Finally the Sergeant broke the silence.

"Sounds like you were on a boarded ship, little missy." I blinked and looked to the captain, who sighed.

"It's the only logical explanation. The ship you were on, it was boarded by the Covenant." My eyes widened.

"Does that mean that...the man who saved me..."

"Yes." We all looked to the Master Chief and his eyes burned into mine. "He was most likely killed, along with the rest of the ship's crew." I froze and my shoulders sagged, staring down at my hands in disbelief. Everyone was silent and Dr. Owens laid a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. Suddenly, the Master Chief walked up to my bedside. "You said that he mentioned your father. Who is he?" I bit my lip and muttered,

"I don't know. The man said that I'm suffering from amnesia..." Dr. Owens nodded and lowered her hand.

"It must be from that scar of yours." I blinked. _Scar?_ She noticed my confusion, and pointed at her own forehead, drawing a little line from the middle of it down to the bridge of her nose. I stared at her before slowly raising my right hand to my forehead, and I remembered that gash in my head when I was in that cryo-tube. I found the scar, and I traced it. "Looks like you got cut by something. Do you mind if I examine it sometime later? I want to find out where you got that scar from. Unless you know about it." I shook out of my reverie and shook my head.

"I don't know how I got it, but I would like to find out. I don't mind." Dr. Owens smiled at me and looked to Keyes.

"Anything else, captain?" Keyes raised a hand to hold his chin in deep thought, before sighing and shaking his head.

"No, that is all. Will you give her physical therapy to get her walking again?" Owens nodded.

"Of course. I'll do my best to get her back on her feet, sir." The captain nodded and turned around.

"Good. I'll see you for an update." With that, he left, leaving the doctor and me with the Chief and Sgt. Johnson. Wait...what? I turned and blinked at them. Why are they here? Dr. Owens noticed this as well and looked at them.

"Aren't you supposed to go with him?" Sgt. Johnson shook his head and leaned against the wall.

"Nope. I'm dismissed for the rest of the day." Dr. Owens and I looked to the Master Chief, who said impassively,

"Same." I blinked as Dr. Owens nodded in understanding before turning to me.

"Would you like to start your therapy now?" I debated on it before nodding and turning so my feet were dangling off the edge of the bed. Dr. Owens laid a hand on my left arm, and directed, "Okay. Just slowly slide off and brace your feet onto the floor. Don't worry, I won't let you fall." I nodded, and did as I was told, but once my feet made contact with the floor and applied pressure upon, my legs buckled. There was a blur as I felt something hold my up by my right arm, and I looked up to see Sgt. Johnson.

"Careful, kid. We don't want any broken heads." I flickered my eyes before looking down.

"Thank you." He only nodded and helped Dr. Owens get me back up on the bed before sitting in a nearby chair. Dr. Owens wrote down a few notes before looking up at me.

"I'll be back in a second." She left the room, leaving me with two men. The room was deathly silent, and I glanced nervously from Sgt. Johnson to Master Chief. I looked to the tall man, and slowly asked,

"So, do you have a name?" I immediately added, "Sir?" The Chief looked up at me, noticing that I was addressing him. He nodded and replied impassively,

"I do..." I leaned forward a bit, unsurely.

"Then why don't you go by it?" Sgt. Johnson gave me a warning look, but I didn't know why. Master Chief's eyes seemed to waver a bit in emotion, but it was too fast for me to calculate.

"The few people who do know my name rarely call me by it, so I grew accustomed to that." I frowned; was it because he's abnormally huge and pale? Was he an outcast? I sighed, obviously not understanding any of this, and then Dr. Owens walked in, with a pair of underarm crutches.

"We'll use these to help you stand up and move around," she said. She walked up to my bedside, and handed the crutches to me. I hold the two sticks as Dr. Owens adjusted them to fit my size. After she finished with the adjustments, I placed the pads of the crutches underneath my armpits, and I looked at her. "Go ahead try to stand," she directed, already taking a hold of my arm to help me. I slid off of the bed and landed awkwardly on the floor, my legs almost buckling underneath me, but I managed to hold myself up with the crutches. Dr. Owens slightly tightened her grip on my arm and pulled me up to stand straight.

"My legs feel like jell-o," I noted in a disappointed tone of voice, frowning down at my limbs. Dr. Owens chuckled softly.

"Don't worry. After a few days of walking and leg exercises, they'll be in good shape."

"What if the Covenant attack before then?" I looked up at the Chief, to see him staring at Dr. Owens, waiting for an answer to his question. The doctor sighed.

"If they do, we'll have to move Emily to a safer place that's well guarded." Sgt. Johnson raised an eyebrow.

"And if the captain decides to give the order to self destruct the _Autumn_?" I blinked at him.

"Self destruct?" I echoed, my eyes wide. Dr. Owens placed her other hand on my back as she explained,

"There's a priority order. It's called the Cole Protocol, and it was made to prevent the Covenant from finding the location of Earth. In order to prevent capture, any U.N.S.C or Human vessel is to self destruct after wiping all data matrices." She turned her gaze to Sgt. Johnson. "If the captain initiates the Cole Protocol, Emily will have to get on an escape pod." She smiled and patted my heat lightly. "And you boys will have yourselves an escort mission." Sgt. Johnson huffed.

"Good to know." He gestured to the Master Chief with his chin. "I'll make sure that Chief over there won't go out taking a hit for the kid." The large man gave the sergeant a small quirk of the eyebrow, and retorted,

"And what makes you think that will happen?" Sgt. Johnson laughed, before he walked over to the tall, large man, giving a friendly punch to his shoulder.

"Face it. You're a total softy when it comes to women and children." The Chief glared at the wall opposite of him as the sergeant walked past him. Johnson stopped at the door and turned around, giving Dr. Owens and I a crisp salute. "Excuse me, ladies, but it's time for me to head for the gym." He tilted his hat at the Master Chief in a smug manner. "I'll catch you later, Chief." The large man merely grunted in reply, and Johnson left the room. Dr. Owens' smile broadened, and she turned to the Chief.

"Well, Master Chief, since Johnson's gone, would you be so kind to help me with Emily's physical therapy? I'm too frail and weak to be able to catch her if she falls." I looked at the man for a moment, and he raised an eyebrow, before pushing himself off of the wall.

"Yes, ma'am." He moved to stand on my right side, just a couple of feet away from me. He crossed his arms over his chest, watching the doctor as she told me,

"Alright, Emily. Take a few steps for me please." I did as I was told, although it was a difficult task because my legs were so weak, as was my entire body. After three steps, my legs gave out from underneath me, and I gasped. As I began to fall, I felt two large, strong arms wrap around my middle, and pull me back up to my feet. I stared up at the owner of the arms, Master Chief, my eyes widened. _He's so fast! I didn't even notice him move._

"Thanks," I muttered, pure amazement laced with my voice. He only nodded silently, gazing down at me with slight regard.

"Good catch, Chief. I guess the marines I treated weren't kidding when they said you have fast reflexes." Dr. Owens smiled at the man, and he shrugged with closed eyes.

"It's all from the training, Doctor. Nothing else. " I straightened myself, and readjusted the crutches underneath my arms. I sighed, and looked at the doctor with pathetic eyes.

"How long will this take?" I asked in a pitiful voice. Dr. Owens laughed and walked over to me, before placing her hand on my head.

"Don't worry, Emily. It will take only a few days." I stared at her for a moment, until I nodded in understanding.

"I see. But," I paused, "what will the captain have me do once I've recovered?" Dr. Owens sighed, and shook her head.

"He'll give you your own quarters, but I'm positive that he'll want more answers from you."

"He seems stressed about you showing up," the Chief added, glancing at me. I blinked and tilted my head curiously, as Dr. Owens nodded.

"Well, you can't blame him. We just lost a planet and many lives, plus we're in the middle of a war right now. Now the safety of a young girl has been added to his main priorities. The job of a captain is never easy." I looked down at my feet, and my eyes softened sadly. _I__ must be a burden to everyone. I shouldn't even be here... and to appear in the middle of a war...._ I stopped my train of thought, as I raised an eyebrow, before looking up at the doctor.

"What war?" I asked, my eyebrows knitted in confusion. That seemed to shock the Master Chief, seeing as his eyes widened quite quickly and both of his eyebrows shot up. Dr. Owens, having witnessed my confusion before, told him calmly,

"It must be the amnesia." She sighed and told me to sit down on my bed, which I did, before she took a seat beside me. "We call it the Human-Covenant War, and it's been going on for 28 years now." My eyes widened in shock. _28 years?_ She nodded at my surprised expression and said, "It started in the year 2525, when the Covenant, a religious leadership of different alien species, attacked humanity on Harvest." I fought down the disgusted and confused expression on my face. _Aliens?_ Dr. Owens continued, "We arranged a meeting with them for trade, and apparently they wanted something else. One of the aliens attacked one of our colonial militia members. The trade was screwed up when a firefight broke out, and the Covenant retreated. Soon after, the Covenant's leaders, the Prophets, called for a crusade on us, and then it turned into a mass genocide of the human race." My heart lurched, and I began to think about the number of lives lost. I didn't want to know. "They later declared war on us, and that's how it all started." I stared at her with wide eyes, and I slowly looked down, mumbling,

"I can't believe it...a war..." I looked back up to Dr. Owens with a small pained smile. "I'm sorry...I must be a burden to everyone now."

"You're not a burden." Dr. Owens and I turned to see the Chief with his arms crossed, watching me with an impassive face. "It's not your fault you ended up here with no memory of your past, nor is it your fault that you were forced into cryo with a coma." His eyes softened a bit, and he uttered with a sympathetic tone, "I'm sure the captain won't mind if the priority is taking care of a young girl." I blinked at him, and I looked at Dr. Owens, who's smiling warmly at the moment.

"Chief's right, and the captain has a daughter as well, only she's older than you and she's the Lieutenant Commander of the _In Amber Clad._" My eyes widened in amazement and Dr. Owens wrote a few more things down in her notebook. "Not many people can tell that Captain Keyes' worried and misses her very much," she paused in her writing and smiled up at me, "and I'm sure that you remind him of when she was your age." I stared at her for a few moments, before I did the same to Master Chief, who had turned his attention to the floor. I sighed, knowing that the both of them had good points, and I stared down at my lap, my bangs falling into my face.

"I understand what you guys are saying, but...I still feel like I owe him, like an apology or some way to repay him." I felt a hand clap me on the shoulder, and I looked up to see no other than the Chief staring down at me with that impassive face of his.

"Why don't you wait a bit until you give the captain your apology? You still need to regain your body strength, so I suggest you wait until you can stand and walk around." He released my shoulder and walked toward the doorway, continuing, "And you'll need a tour of the _Autumn_ if you want to find your way around." The door opened with a hiss at his approach, and he turned around to salute, much like the way Sgt. Johnson did before he left. "I apologize for my rudeness, but I should leave now." He lowered his arm as Dr. Owens smirked and placed her hands on her hips.

"Why? Is Cortana expecting you?" I raised an eyebrow at the reaction to the doctor's question. Chief's expression had flickered to show a bit of brief torment, but it was instantly replaced with the same impassive mask, and he hesitantly replied,

"...Affirmative, ma'am." Dr. Owens grinned as she laughed to herself, and she gave the man a dismissive wave of the hand.

"Alright, we girls won't keep you any longer. Don't want to get the A.I mad at our hero. Will you being visiting often?" Master Chief tensed for a moment, until his shoulders sagged as he mumbled,

"Yes, doctor." I sensed a little relief inside of me at the answer. To be honest, I felt rather safe in this place with the few people I met today. Dr. Owens, Sgt. Johnson, Master Chief, and perhaps even Captain Keyes. Without them, I'd be nervous wreck, afraid of everyone around me. Even if I hadn't seen the entire ship, I could already tell it would be huge, and I could already see the stares that I would be getting once I'm out of the medical bay.

"Very well. We'll be seeing you later, Chief." The doctor's voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I saw Chief ready to leave to the room. Before he left, I waved at him with a small smile, saying,

"Bye. What you said really helped. Thank you." He regarded me for a moment, before he nodded.

"It's not a problem." With that, he left the room, and turned right in the hall, with the door closing behind him. I waited a few moments as Dr. Owens checked my arms, and legs, squeezing them gently here and there, until I asked,

"Um, who's Cortana?" The older woman didn't remove her gaze from my right arm as she replied,

"She's the _Autumn's_ Artificial Intelligence, mostly known as a smart A.I."

"What's an A.I?" I asked hesitantly, and the doctor looked up at me.

"They're like computer systems, only they're capable of doing tasks that require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, speech-making, and translation between languages."

"So, she runs the entire ship?" I asked, as Dr. Owens walked over to a cabinet.

"That's correct, and she's not any ordinary A.I." She opened the cabinet, and pulled out a bottle of something, which I supposed were pills. "She was created from the brain of one of the most famous doctors, Dr. Halsey, who started the program that Master Chief is in, the SPARTAN IIs. Cortana was asked to pick a carrier for a mission, and she chose the Chief. Basically, they're partners." I nodded in understanding and moved to ask another question, but I'm cut off by a woman's voice.

"Do I hear someone talking about me?" I blinked, and looked around for the owner of the voice, but there's no one else in the room except Dr. Owens and I.

"Eavesdropping again, Cortana?" the doctor asked the room, and I jumped in surprise when a form flickered on top of a nearby desk. The holographic form of a purple woman appeared, and she had various codes scrolling up and down her body, which looked like it was wearing a skin-tight bodysuit. The form had short cropped hair that stopped at the base of her neck. She crossed her arms, and smirked.

"Of course, doctor." Dr. Owens raised an eyebrow.

"So what gives us the _honor_ of your presence?"

"Just wanted to drop by and say hi to our cute little guest." The miniature woman smiled at me and I redden out of embarrassment at the unexpected compliment. "I'm Cortana, and as you already know, I'm the A.I of this ship." I blinked at her and replied,

"Um, I'm Emily. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss." Cortana raised an eyebrow at me, that smile still on her face, and I wondered if I had said something wrong.

"Likewise. And don't bother with the formality. I'd rather have a fellow young woman call me by my name." I blinked at her, and I nodded slowly.

"Um, okay....Cortana." _What an interesting name_, I thought as it rolled off of my tongue. If possible, the A.I's smile widened in a cheeky way.

"That's better. I'm sure we'll be friends in no time." Dr. Owens cleared her throat, turning both my gaze and Cortana's to her.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Cortana, Chief just left to see you. We all figured you were waiting for him..." Cortana's smile disappeared, and she hummed in deep thought, her hand holding her chin in a musing manner.

"Strange, I didn't say anything about waiting for him..." She shrugged. "He must want to talk to me about something." I looked at her quizzically, but I quickly pushed down my questioning expression as the A.I turned to me. "Well, I better go. Can't keep the Chief waiting on me." She waved a hand at me, and smiled warmly. "I'll drop by again soon, but before I leave..." Cortana held one arm up by the elbow, and tilted her head slightly. "...judging from what I overheard, you've missed a lot of things. How about I give you a history lesson, to help you catch up?" I smiled back at her.

"I would really appreciate that. Thank you." She shook her head.

"Not a problem." She looked around, before grinning at both the doctor and I. "Well...Catch you later." As she said those last three words, she flickered on top of the desk's pad, and disappeared.

"Well, that's awfully nice of her. To tell you about everything that has happened during the war. She must have taken a liking to you." I shrugged, smiling.

"She's nice." Dr. Owens laughed as she walked over to hand me the bottle of pills, and replied,

"Wait until you get to know her more. Most people can't stand her." I chuckled under my breath.

"I'll manage somehow." I blinked at the bottle in my hands. "What's this?"

"It's a medicine that will help you regain your strength." I cringed and extended my arm to distance myself from the bottle.

"You mean like steroids?" I asked in a baffled tone of voice. She laughed at my disgusted expression and shook her head.

"No, unlike steroids, it's completely made of nutrients. Trust me, it won't effect your body in any way except for helping you regain your strength, and it will make your physical therapy a lot easier." I slowly pulled the bottle back towards me to examine it. "All you have to do is take one pill once a day." She narrowed her eyes and added, "And I'll be here to make sure you do."

"I'm not a druggie," I retorted with my left eyebrow quirked in a questioning manner. Dr. Owens laughed and shook her head.

"I'm not saying you are. What I meant was that I'm going to make sure you actually _take_ a pill. Many kids your age or younger tend to forget about it." I blinked and gave her a curious look. She smiled and sat down in the chair beside me. "I used to be a hospital nurse back on Earth," she explained. "When the war started, I wanted to help save the men who served their planet, so I enrolled my name for the U.N.S.C medical unit." I nodded and looked down at my lap with soft eyes.

"Do you miss anyone? Back on Earth?" I asked, just barely above a murmur.

"Mm, yes. I have a son and daughter, twins, who live there with my mother." She paused, and I looked up to see her digging into her lab coat for something. She pulled out a photo, and offered it to me. "That's them." I gently took the picture in my hands and looked at it.

There were two children, who looked like they were 10-12 years old. One was a boy, with blue eyes and curly black hair, much like Dr. Owens. The other child was a girl, with pale green eyes and light brown hair tied up in pigtails. They were at a lake of some sort, and it looked like they were fishing, pausing in their activity to smile at the camera.

I smiled at the photograph and looked up at Dr. Owens.

"They're beautiful," I uttered softly, and the doctor nodded.

"Thank you." I handed her the photo, and she took a moment to stare at it. I chose the moment to add,

"You must miss them very much." She sighed with a nod as she placed the picture back in her pocket.

"I do. Not a day goes without me thinking about them." My eyes softened and I mutter,

"They must miss you, too." I exhaled hopelessly and pulled up my legs to hold them against my chest. "If I could remember my dad, and if he's out fighting in the war, I would miss him very much." I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up to see Dr. Owens smiling at me, like a mother would to her own child. She took a moment before asking,

"Want to know something?" I blinked, before nodding slowly, and the woman tilted her head a bit, the smile still on her face.

"I know that you'll find your father. And you know what else? He's probably looking for you right now, thinking about you everyday like the way I do with my children." I stared at her in awe, and I could feel my eyes beginning to water, but I fought it down as I beam at Dr. Owens.

"Yeah. We'll find each other, someday." She nodded, and stood up to her feet.

"Good. Now..." She stretched a bit with a yawn, and finished, "Let's get working on your therapy."

* * *

Another Note: So how was it? Review please! =)


	3. An Explanation

Hello, everyone. I'm here to give you all an update on this story.

First of all, I'd like to thank all of those who've stayed with this fic ever since it was published, not to mention I owe you guys a _big_ apology. Seriously, you people had to deal with my stupid, ridiculous update pattern, and had to wait so long for new chapters ^ ^; So thank you so, so much for that, and I'm terribly sorry!

Alright, here's the news. Now...

**THIS IS NOT DEAD. NONE OF MY STORIES ARE, IN FACT.**

See, I've been going through the phase. Yes, I speak of _that_ phase, the one in which inspiration is _so_ hard to come by... Unfortunately, this phase struck my mind over the summer, and while I've been slowly working on the next chapter, I simply couldn't be excited, or at least satisfied with what I was writing.

I assure you, all of the reviews and faves/story alerts are very, _very_ well appreciated. That, and there's school...damn school. I am thankful for its efforts to make me smarter and strengthen my goals for future careers, but must it take up so much of my free time? *sigh* I really hope you all understand this.

As for the next chapter...I think that now I am _totally _pumped to work on it. Pretty much what happened is that my brother and I played _Halo: Combat Evolved _and _Halo 2_ for a while, and it kinda motivated me to start working on this series xD _Halo Reach _kinda helped as well (but for some reason I grew bored very quickly when I started playing it).

There's _definitely _going to be some editing going on. I've given a lot of thought into my analysis as I read this, pretty much asking myself questions and whatnot. I can't begin to tell you all how much I love this story. There's _no way _I'll give up on this, I assure you.

**ALSO! **

I have started another _Halo _fic. It's set in _Halo Wars_, because even though it was an RTS game, I absolutely adored the story and its characters (especially Forge and Cutter...freakin awesome old men). _But _there's about above 50% chance of it being a romance thing...something I'm looking forward to, actually. Don't worry, there'll be action too. There's always action. It's not posted yet, in fact, it might be posted on another account, if I decide to start another one. Check my profile to see if I actually choose to do so.

This story, however, will not be a romance. It's 100% adventure/action.

But anyway, that's pretty much the news. I'll be working on _My Unknown Loss_, as well as my other fanfics, but be warned, I have _no idea_ when they'll be updated.

Now that I've explained myself, hopefully you guys won't kill me ^ ^; I feel much safer now! xD

Again, thank you all so much! I'm truly sorry!

Love you guys :)


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